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Daredevil season 2 episode 1 viewing notes: Bang
18 March 2016 9:02 AM, PDT
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Daredevil's first season two episode sets a decidedly Frank Miller-ish tone. Here are our viewing notes on Bang...
Daredevil’s second season hits the ground running with a surprisingly Frank Miller-esque tour of Hell’s Kitchen. Indeed, the 70s Miller vibe continues all the way through this episode, from the heatwave they set up (recalling the famous New York heatwave/blackout of 1977) to the grit of the detectives surveying the Punisher’s first murder scene and complaining about paperwork.
Essentially though, it seems to be setting up a standard episode. We see Daredevil fighting crooks, hanging out with Foggy, working at the law firm with Karen, hitting up Turk for information and finally clocking off in the evening at Josie’s Bar. There’s a sense of routine – which is then interrupted when someone decides to kill an entire mob family unexpectedly, leaving the »
- louisamellor
Vikings renewed for season 5
18 March 2016 7:49 AM, PDT
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The History Channel has renewed its Norse historical drama, Vikings, for season 5, when Jonathan Rhys-Meyers will be joining the cast...
The History Channel has a palpable hit on its hands with Vikings, the superb Norse historical drama that's currently pulling in nigh-on the population of Denmark to the channel each week.
It's with little surprise but great cheer then, that we report Vikings' season 5 renewal.
Joining the regular cast for season 5 is The Tudors and Dracula's Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in an as-yet undisclosed role.
Possible season 4 spoiler: Deadline reports that Clive Standen's imminent, though not permanent, departure from Vikings as he takes the lead in the Taken television spin-off will leave the former show with a leading man-shaped hole that Rhys-Meyers may be intended to fill. End of season 4 spoiler.
Vikings is presently airing through its fourth season (read our spoiler-filled reviews here), and season »
- louisamellor
X-Men Apocalypse: what did we learn from the new trailer?
17 March 2016 11:46 PM, PDT
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We've broken down the new trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse, to see what nerd gold lies within...
If the last few X-Men movies have shown us anything, it’s that it’s hard to predict exactly what you’ll find in an X-Men movie – and the latest trailer for X-Men Apocalypse is certainly overflowing with the big-budget craziness the franchise has become known for. Let’s have a look.
After a few character shots, we get a good view of the school’s interior accompanied by the line “I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to my school looking for trouble” – something previously spoken by Patrick Stewart’s Professior Xavier in X2, of course. Remember it, we’ll come back to that in a minute.
If you’re a comics nerd, this is interesting. In the comics Apocalypse has to occasionally switch »
- simonbrew
Spider-Man: Tom Holland's new costume defended
17 March 2016 11:35 PM, PDT
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The look of Tom Holland's Spider-Man will evolve as he appears in more Marvel movies...
Since the release of the latest trailer for Captain America: Civil War, there’s been no shortage of online discussion about the Spider-Man costume that Tom Holland debuted in it. Naturally enough, not everybody is a fan, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo have addressed that in a new interview with Forbes.
“The design of the costume is what it is”, Joe Russo said. "That’s the design that we love, it’s the design that [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin Feige loves and so on”.
He added that “he’s a very popular character so it’s always going to be controversial, people are always going to love or hate what you do with him, but all we can do is make sure that we love it, that we are true to ourselves and »
- simonbrew
Ready Player One set to add Simon Pegg to cast
17 March 2016 11:22 PM, PDT
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Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke are to be joined by Simon Pegg in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One...
Even though the biggest Steven Spielberg news of the week has been the announcement that he’s going to make Indiana Jones 5, he does have another major project to get through before that one’s released in 2019.
Notwithstanding the fact that this summer’s The Bfg needs finishing, Spielberg will next move on to his adaptation of Ernest Cline’s nerdy bestseller, Ready Player One. And now we have some fresh casting news for the movie.
Simon Pegg is in talks to join the movie, that already includes Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke amongst its cast. Pegg is in line to play the role of Orgen Morrow, who co-creates the virtual world Oasis in the story.
Ready Player One is set to start shooting this June, with »
- simonbrew
Guillermo del Toro set to direct new supernatural film
17 March 2016 11:14 PM, PDT
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Octavia Spencer is set to join the cast of a thus-far unnamed supernatural movie from Guillermo del Toro...
Now this could be interesting. We now know for definite that Guillermo del Toro won’t be directing Pacific Rim 2, and instead he’d been linked with a remake of Fantastic Voyage. But it might just be that another project has taken precedence.
Del Toro is now being linked with a brand new supernatural film set against the backdrop of the Cold War in 1963. The project doesn’t have a name yet, but there is someone else circling the production. Octavia Spencer is said to be in talks to star in the film.
Del Toro is writing, producing and directing this one, and The Hollywood Reporter is describing the movie as “a mysterious and magical journey set against the backdrop of Cold War-era America circa 1963 with an otherworldly love »
- simonbrew
Screening Room: what is it and what does it mean for cinema?
17 March 2016 11:05 AM, PDT
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A new streaming service aims to bring us the latest cinema releases at home - for a cost. We take a look at Screening Room...
You may have already noticed that the common story in two of this year’s biggest films is of heroes who become sworn enemies. In one corner we have Batman V Superman, with the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel locked in a furious battle seemingly orchestrated by Lex Luthor. In the other there’s Captain America: Civil War, which sees the Avengers split into two opposing factions - one supporting a government register for those with super powers, the other against it.
A similar rift appears to be opening up in the film industry - this time over a new streaming service called Screening Room. Proposed by Napster co-creator Sean Parker, Screening Room will, if it goes ahead, allow its »
- ryanlambie
Risen review
17 March 2016 9:37 AM, PDT
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From director Kevin Reynolds comes Risen, a faith-based movie with interesting pros and cons...
The trailer for Risen declares it “the most important manhunt in history”, which means they obviously haven’t seen The Fugitive. Let’s tread a bit carefully, though. I’m not about to knock anyone’s religion, but if Risen has a problem, it’s that it takes a stance on the divinity of Christ.
This isn’t a theological or ethical problem; it’s a narrative one. See, Risen bowls along quite agreeably as a sort of police procedural, benefiting from the mystery of whether a man really has risen from the dead or not. But when it makes a decision on this, the intrigue is lost and your interest wanes a bit.
Yes, a police procedural. Battle-scarred Roman tribune Clavius (a beefed-up Joseph Fiennes) is busy shoving his sword through people »
- simonbrew
Supergirl episode 16 review: Falling
17 March 2016 6:23 AM, PDT
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Red Kryptonite makes an appearance in this week's episode of Supergirl, and it's causing Kara all sorts of problems...
This review contains spoilers.
1.16 Falling
The red Kryptonite episodes of Smallville were always great. I mention this not just because of the shared plot device, but also because so far Supergirl has so far been courting the same tone as its (distant) cousin show. Red Kryptonite is exciting purely because our protagonist and the world she lives in is otherwise so sunny and optimistic. What happens when the truth interjects, and that truth comes from Kara herself?
On the surface, we get the cheap joy of seeing her dress differently and give in to the petty rivalry between her and Siobhan, as well as telling Cat off for being her usual unpleasant self. It's fun because this is still Kara, not a possession or brainwashing, and she's simply »
- louisamellor
Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 episode 12 review: The Inside Man
17 March 2016 5:28 AM, PDT
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Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 episode The Inside Man had the ring of filler about it but a few strong moments nonetheless…
This review contains spoilers
3.12: The Inside Man
If a TV episode starts and ends with pretty much all of his characters in exactly the same place as they started, it’s bound to end up being labelled as a filler episode. This is what The Inside Man felt like, as it started and ended with Coulson and Talbot forming an alliance, with an unnecessary-seeming diversion plonked in the middle.
What is gained by having Talbot’s son kidnapped by Malick and Talbot turning against Coulson as a result? Not much, especially since the problem is resolved within 45 minutes and they go back to being reluctant buddies afterwards. This feels like a script idea that was meant to plug a scheduling gap, not achieve anything important. »
- rleane
BioShock Collection info leaked by rating site
17 March 2016 4:21 AM, PDT
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The existence of a BioShock compilation for current systems appears to have been leaked by a Taiwanese games rating site...
Ken Levine may not be returning to the BioShock universe for the foreseeable future, but that doesn't mean his survival horror shooter series will quietly vanish into history. According to a post found on a games rating site in Taiwan, the BioShock games could be about to make their debut on current-gen systems in a forthcoming compilation.
Although the post, which you can see here, doesn't detail precisely what's in BioShock: The Collection, the cover artwork on the site pretty much confirms that we'll be getting BioShock and its sequel as well as BioShock Infinite - see how the design takes in Rapture beneath the sea as well as Columbia floating high up in the clouds? It isn't too much of a stretch to assume the set »
- ryanlambie
Person Of Interest: to end after season 5, premiere date confirmed
17 March 2016 2:32 AM, PDT
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Person Of Interest will return to CBS for season 5 on Tuesday the 3rd of May, kicking off the show’s final run…
Jonathan Nolan’s crime drama Person Of Interest is a show that we’ve got a lot of time for at Geek Towers, as we’ve discussed at length here. So, it’s with a tinge of glumness that we’re passing on the news that the series will come to an end in the near future.
It’s been confirmed that Person Of Interest season 5 will premiere on CBS on Tuesday the 3rd of May, kicking off a 13-episode run. This run will be the show’s last, culminating in the series finale, which is scheduled to air on Tuesday the 21st of June.
Nolan and his fellow executive producer Greg Plageman released this statement:
“We’re extremely excited to be able share this final season with the fans. »
- rleane
Vikings season 4 episode 4 review: Yol
17 March 2016 2:24 AM, PDT
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Women, power and ownership are recurring themes in Vikings season 4 episode 4, Yol. Here's our review...
This review contains spoilers.
4.4 Yol
This season has been a bit of a disappointment thus far for me, in a certain way. If you’ve been following my reviews, you know I’m a tremendous fan of Lagertha’s—primarily of her take-no-shit way of dealing with a world which insists that she is a second-class citizen. And we’ve had little chance to enjoy that aspect of her this season.
What I have loved about the show’s depiction of her is that it doesn’t pull punches about what the price of being that kind of woman is. She’s paid a heavy price for being female and living her life with honour as she defines it (rather than how others might define it for her). It’s meant leaving »
- louisamellor
Pretty Little Liars season 6 finale: has the mystery run its course?
17 March 2016 1:09 AM, PDT
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After the confused revelations of the season 6 finale, Hush Hush Sweet Liars, has Pretty Little Liars lost both its subtext and soul?
This feature contains spoilers for Pretty Little Liars season 6.
The sixth season finale for Pretty Little Liars season 6 aired this week, and with it came fresh reveals about secret twins, ludicrously convincing prosthetics and elaborate kidnapping plots. It was sillier than I remember the show ever being, and this is a series that regularly features dead girls coming back to life, cyber-stalkers stealing rotting corpses and storing them in drinks cabinets, and teenage girls commissioning creepy woodsmen to create multiple masks of their own faces.
I love this show. I've written thousands of words about it, meticulously deciphered its mysteries and gotten up at the crack of dawn to watch it just so I wouldn't be spoiled. But even I have to admit that things »
- louisamellor
Ben Hur: first trailer for upcoming remake
16 March 2016 11:36 PM, PDT
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Jack Huston is the new Ben Hur, and the first trailer for the new take on the story has just been released...
The multiple Oscar-winning Ben Hur is (sort of) returning to our screens later this year, courtesy of a remake that's being directed by Wanted helmer Timur Bekmambetov.
The new film is being led by Jack Huston, and he leads a cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Toby Kebbell, Nazanin Boniadi and Rodrigo Santoro, and it's due in UK cinemas on August 26th.
A trailer, poster and official synopsis have been released for the new Ben Hur, so, as ever, we'll do them in that order.
The trailer first...
Then the poster...
Then the synopsis...
Seize the glory of an empire. Watch two brothers battle in the trailer for Ben-Hur.
Ben-hur is the epic story of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a prince falsely accused of treason by »
- simonbrew
Everybody Wants Some!! - the red band trailer
16 March 2016 11:33 PM, PDT
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Here's the trailer for Richard Linklater's Dazed And Confused 'sequel', Everybody Wants Some!!
Two reasons instantly make us want to see Everybody Wants Some!!
Firstly, it's the new movie from Richard Linklater, one of America's most consistently interesting film directors. Secondly, it's being billed as the "spiritual sequel" to Dazed And Confused. Yep, we're there.
It arrives in UK cinemas on May 13th, and a new red band trailer has been released. There's a poster and synopsis too, but we'll do them in order. Here's the new trailer...
Here's the poster...
And here's the synopsis...
From the acclaimed writer and director of the Academy award-winning Boyhood, Richard Linklater returns with Everybody Wants Some!!, a spiritual sequel to his 1993 breakthrough, Dazed & Confused.
Set in the world of 1980s college life, Everybody Wants Some!! follows a freshman’s first weekend of college, experiencing a fraternity-like lifestyle with his »
- simonbrew
Heat prequel being planned by Michael Mann
16 March 2016 11:31 PM, PDT
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Michael Mann is set to work on a prequel to his 1995 classic Heat - and it may then turn into a movie...
A flat-out classic of 1990s American cinema, Heat was the movie that finally brought Robert De Niro and Al Pacino together on screen for the first time. Michael Mann's crime thriller is a regular on our rewatch pile here too, and is a reliable way to make the best part of three hours disappear.
Mann, who's currently working on his biopic of Enzo Ferrari, is set to ink a deal that'll see him launch Michael Mann Books. This is going to be a publishing imprint for a collection of novels, across a few writers, that will in turn be developed for film and television adaptations too.
And it turns out that a prequel to Heat is one of the first priority projects.
The novel »
- simonbrew
Lobo movie back on, Wonder Woman writer hired
16 March 2016 11:24 PM, PDT
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The writer of Wonder Woman, Jason Fuchs, has been hired to bring DC's Lobo movie back to life...
It's been some time since we'd heard any word of the planned movie of Lobo, from Warner Bros and DC.
We knew that Dwayne Johnson was set to join the cast, and that his San Andreas director - Brad Peyton - was appointed to helm the movie back in 2012. Yet since then, there's been barely a peep. Peyton had said while promoting San Andreas that Lobo wasn't one of the first priorities when it came to the DC movie universe.
But it looks like the feature is back on the Warner Bros and DC radar.
Jason Fuchs, who penned the screenplay to the upcoming Wonder Woman movie, has now been hired to pen a Lobo film. He's reportedly starting from scratch on the project, which suggests that earlier approaches »
- simonbrew
The Crow reboot looks like it's falling apart again
16 March 2016 11:18 PM, PDT
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Director Corin Hardy is no longer directing The Crow, as a fresh legal problem hits the planned reboot...
The planned remake of The Crow has been something of a troubled project. It's gone through several directors, a few different actors, and more recently, the bankruptcy of Relativity Media, that had picked up the rights.
However, Corin Hardy has been attached to direct the film for some time now, and even began pre-production on the movie last summer. Since then, the film seemed to fall apart, and then - as Relativity reorganised - it was back on come the start of the year.
Now? It's back in trouble.
Edward R Pressman Film Corporation, that produced the 1994 movie, has now lodged papers in court that would prevent the new Relativity from making sequels, prequels and remakes to The Crow.
However, it now seems that Dana Brunetti, who's heading up the new Relativity, »
- simonbrew
The subversive messages snuck into Melrose Place
16 March 2016 11:36 AM, PDT
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For 2 years in the 1990s, an art group snuck props containing hidden political messages into Fox’s glamorous soap, Melrose Place…
When it comes to matters of morality and ethics, Us TV Networks are notoriously strict on what their shows may or may not depict. Remember the episode of Friends in which Rachel and Monica fight over the apartment’s last condom? After the fuss following Seinfeld’s condom episode, NBC stopped the creators from showing an actual condom wrapper, hence the use of a generic box.
The same went for A Different World episode Time Keeps On Slippin, when Producer-Director Debbie Allen was forced to have a character point to a handbag rather than show a packaged condom.
A similar stringent attitude applies to alcohol and drug references. In The Italian Bob episode of The Simpsons when Lisa gets drunk, Fox banned producers from showing her »
- louisamellor
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